Safe conveyance body



Dec. 8, 1959 GRAHAM 2,916,324

SAFE CONVEYANCE BODY Filed Jan. 9, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 l I,III/IIIIII/III/II/I INVENTOR.

Phi/ll}: Graham ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1959 W P. GRAHAM SAFE CONVEYANCE BODYFiled Jan. 9, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Phi/lip Graham TORNEY FiledJan. 9, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. l5

n. ill/l/IIIIIIIIIIIIIII I III/I'll, u

g A K? INVEANTOR. \\/5 P/H/A Gra am ATTORN EY United States Patent SAFECONVEYANCE BODY Phillip Graham, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application January 9, 1956, Serial No. 557,938 I 15 Claims. Cl. 296-28)This invention relates to a cushionable auto body and the like that hasa plastic shell which is slightly resilient. The body, according to thepresent invention, will yield and rebound without permanent deformationfrom the impacts of most collision-s, which'impacts would severelydamage conventional auto bodies. Under more violent colliding forces,the body will be damaged while gradually yielding in absorbing anddiverting the violent forces. Thus the body would be expendable toprotectively cushion the occupants of the conveyance.

This invention is an improvement over my Patents Nos. 2,826,788 and2,827,305, entitled Curved Barrier. While this type of safe conveyancebody would be most useful for vehicles such as automobiles, it may alsobe used for trucks, buses, highway trailers, planes, small boats, andother structures.

Common automobile bodies do not provide adequate protection for theiroccupants during violent collisions. Automobile accidents that occur inthe United States during a year cause about 35,000 deaths and over1,000,000 injuries. Property damage in these accidents causes losses ofmany millions of dollars, most of which damage is to the automobiles orvehicles involved in the accidents. Common automob le bodies that areinvolved in violent collisions, fail without adequately cushioning thesevere collision forces. The common automobile body crumples to anextent because the shell and framing are of such shapes that they offerlittle resistance to violent collision forces. The shell buckles underminor impact forces. The collision forces are absorbed by the action ofcrumpling and tearing of the steel members of an automobile, whichdestroys these members and creates inadequate cushioning action. Theautomobile bodyfails locally and almost instantly at the point of impactsince the body does not have the means to spread the initial impactforce into a greater mass of the body that will be able to resist it.The massive heavy bumpers of common automobiles offer little protectionsince their shape and their connections to the chassis offer littlecushioning of the violent collision thrusts. These heavy bumpers createa visual impression that they are strong and effective guards, thusgiving the occupants a false sense of security. The shape of the commonautomobile body creates the impression that the structure is strong,which also gives the occupants a false sense of security. Generally, theoccupants of common automobile bodies are killed or injured when thebody fails to an extent that the occupants compartment is penetrated byfailing members, such as the motor and the lower portion of the steeringcolumn. The common automobile body has very little resistance againstviolent collision forces that strike it broadside.

A vehicle body embodying the principles of this invention offersprotection against the violent forces of collisions in which it isinvolved, since it will yield, and cushion or divert the violentimpacts. The vehicle body will rebound from most minor impact loads. Thebody has means 'to yieldingly resist more violent forces byprogressively yielding while resisting, and then collapsing in steps toabsorb andcushion the collision force, also to divert some of the forcedownward to the roadway Which absorbs it. Furthermore there is means todivert some of the force upwardly which diversion absorbs some of theforce by lifting the automobile. The body, being resilient, tends tobounce'harmles sly away from heavy objects it sideswipes or collideswith at an angle, rather than to become entangled with the objects andto be dragged into further hazards. Furthermore, the rcsilient body willtend to cushion the shock of the contact with a pedestrian it maystrike, thus tending to reduce the possible injury to the pedestrian,and after the re silient shell has deflected the vehicle body will tendto rebound and propel or bounce the struck pedestrian away from thevehicle and thus out of its path, thus reducing the possibility ofdragging the pedestrian or throwing him into the path of the wheels. 1

The interior of the conveyance body may have yieldab le bowed paneledcushionable barriers to act during a collision to cushion the forces ofthe occupants and loose objects that are hurled against the barriers bythe ,momentum. Curved barriers are described in my Patents Nos.2,826,788 and 2,827,305.

An object to my invention is to provide a safe, durable conveyance bodythat will cushion, absorb, or, divert violent collision forces and thusprevent injurylto the people in the collision as, well as to prevent orreduce the damage to the conveyance and the element it collides with.The body is expendable to safeguard the occupants from ultraviolentcollision forces, which cause portions of the conveyance body tocollapse after they have cushionedand absorbed much of the forces.

Other objects of my invention will become more ap' parent from thefollowing description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of an automobile;

Figure 2 is an elevational view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken along line4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken along line 5-5 ofFigure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure2;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 7-7. of Figure2;

Figure ,8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along .line8-8 of Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure8;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 10-10 ofFigure 8;

Figure 11 is a fragmentarysectional view similar to Figure 8, butshowing a portion of the vehicle body flattened by a colliding object;

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view taken from theexterior or convex side of the body shell;

Figure 13 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view taken from theconcave side of the ribs and body shell;

Figure 14 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 14-14 ofFigure 12;

Figure 15 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line15-15 of Figure 2;

Figure 16 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line16-16 of Figure 2;

Figure 17 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through a bumper pad;

elevational view taken along Figure 18 is a fragmentary sectional viewsimilar to Figure 14, showing a modification with a sheet metal skin onthe plastic shell.

. The automobile illustrated in thedrawings has a yieldable resilientbody. Broadly stated, the vehicle body in accordance with the presentinvention consists of bowed plastic shell portions with yieldable tiesacross the chords of the bows of the shells. Collision impacts cause thebowed shells to yield by flattening partially, and the yieldable ties toyield by stretching until the forces are absorbed, or diverted. Thevehicle body shell of slightly resilient plastic is shaped andpositioned to obtain optimum cushioning effect and strength when usedwith a small amount of metal. The plastic shell may have fiber glassstrands impregnated in it to strengthen it. The plastic vehicle body islight in weight. The low weight of the body keeps the momentum low, thuscausing collision impacts to be lower than that of heavier vehicles. Thelight weight vehicle can be stopped quicker on icy roadways when tirefriction to the roadway is negligible. The light weight vehicle is morelikely to bounce away from a heavy object it collides with than would aheavier vehicle. A heavier vehicle would have more tendency to collapsefrom a violent impact.

The shell of the body is confined to maintain highly efficient arched orbowed shapes to its body sections. The bowed shapes act as archedcompression members since they yield and flatten partially in cushioningimpacts. While flattening partially, the impact load is diverted andspread over greater portions of the body so that it can be resisted bythe larger portions of the body that are brought into play, to thus slowdown the momentum gradually by absorbing the forces gradually. There areyieldable spring ties across the chords of the bowed shell sections thatyield to an extent and absorb much of the violent force. There are ribsthat can yieldably flatten as they help to maintain arched shapes to theshell portions as they partially flatten. The confined arched shapes areused to obtain optimum load carrying efficiency of the shell material.As the plastic is compressed, it becomes progressively more resistant tothe force that tends to further compress it. Thus much of the force isabsorbed in greatly compressing the fibers of the arched shell.

The vehicle body illustrated is substantially symmetrical about itslongitudinal and transverse axes, except that the doors are off-centerand other minor differences that are obvious. The vehicle body is shapedto provide an efficient functional structure. The ends and the sides ofthe vehicle body have the highly yieldable and resilient features tocause cushioning actions from collision impacts, also to a more limiteddegree, these features are incorporated into the top, the hood, and thetrunk lid. The arched shape of the front and rear of the vehicle body isshown as being of substantially identical structural features as head-oncollisions and rear-end collisions of intense magnitude are frequentevents. The yieldable roof, hood, and trunk cover would be usefulsafeguards when an automobile rolls over. The hood and the trunk lid aresloped downwardly and outwardly to allow the driver more visibility ofthe roadway, also to form a stronger shaped vehicle body.

The forward plastic shell section 1 and the rear shell section 2 aresubstantially identical. The resilient bumper pads 3 may be fastened tothe shell to engage common knobbed bumpers of other vehicles and thelike during collisions to act as a cushion, as a buffer, and as a meansto spread the impact over a greater area of the shell. Thus the pads 3tend to prevent the puncturing of the shell. The pads 3 may be airfilled tubes of rubber and nylon fabric that are similar in constructionto inflated single tube tires. As shown in Figure 17, the pads 3 mayhave metal facings 3a to contact the opposing cars bumper to distributethe impact over a large area of the resilient pad 3 and thus to a largearea of the shell 1;

The facings 3a restrain the pads 3 from bulging outward except at thesides. The pads 3 and the facings 3a bend and flatten with the shell 1during a violent collision. Resilient straps 3b fasten the facing 3a tothe shell 1. The facings 3a hold the pads 3 against the shell 1. Thedoor 4 acts in unison with the adjacent body members to maintaincontinuity of stress carrying features to distribute the collisionforces to a greater section of the body. The roof shell 5 is yieldableto cushion impacts on it when the vehicle rolls over. The hood shell 6and the trunk lid shell 7 are slightly yieldable to allow them to yieldunder impacts on their convex surfaces, such as during roll overs. Thehood 6 and the lid 7 securely engage adjoining body members to brace andtie the body together, so thrusts can be spread widely into the bodystructure until enough structure is brought into play to absorb thethrusts.

Channel members 8a and 8b are curved in length to a horse-shoe likeshape. They are members that take impact thrusts from the upper portionof the vertical bowed shell sections. Channels 9 are periphery chassismembers. They take impact thrusts from the lower portion of the verticalbowed shell sections. The rigid roof framing members 10a, 10b and arerigidly supported by the posts 11a and 11b. The center rib-like posts12:: and 12b, may be portions of a yieldable arched rib that isincorporated into the roof structure. The yieldable arched rib yieldswith the roof shell during roll-overs, to act as a cushion. The crossmembers 13a and 1312 may support the ends of the center roof rib arch.The members 13a and 13b are supported by the channels 8a and 8b.

The center rib-like posts 12a and 12b are not highly objectionable as totheir blocking vision since the center window areas are often obscured,preventing viewing through them during the worst driving conditions,such as during rain, and snow storms, as the windshield wipers do notclean these areas.

The door latches 14 may be made similar to those used on fireproof vaultdoors. The latches 14 are sup ported by framing on the interior sides ofthe doors 4. Mud guards 15 may be made of highly elastic plastic, whichdo not restrain the body from being depressed inwardly under impacts.Snow, ice, and mud tend to break loose from the elastic guards 15 sincethe guards flex from vibration and jolts of the vehicle on roadways. Themud guards 15 flex to cushion the forces of crushed stones, cinders, andthe like that are thrown against them by the wheels. Also the plasticeliminates the noise of such'matter striking the guards. Furthermore,the guards yield and cushion the forces from broken tire chains andeliminate noise from the pounding of such broken chains. The guards 15do not corrode from chemical action of cinders, salt, and soil.

The curved ceiling panel 16 may be a flexible yieldable panel cushion.The motor 17 and other members in the lower portion of the vehicle areshown by the dot-dash outline in Figure 5.

As shown in Figure 8, the wire spring tie 18 forms a resilient tieacross the chord line of the shell 1. Wire fasteners 19 fasten the topand bottom edges of the shell 1 to the retainers. The tie 18 is fastenedto the reinforcing wire 20c and 20d in the bulb-like edgings of theshell 1. The wire 20d is spirally coiled to allow it to yield locally.As shown in Figures 8, 12, 13 and 14, the shell 1 has a wire grid 20encased in it with the wires positioned horizontally and vertically atright angles to each other. A second similar grid 20a may besuperimposed on the grid 20 and be fastened to it where the gridscontact each other. The grid wires may be fused together in welding sothe joint of intersecting wires is flattened to one thickness. The wiresin the grid 2011 are positioned 45 degrees from those in the grid 20.The plastic of the shell may have fiber glass reinforcing, in additionto the grid Wires. The wire grids effectively restrain the shell 1 fromshearing, tearing and cracking from minor force's, thus a large portionof the shell is made to act as a unit to absorb and resist collisionforces. The wire grids are members that resist tension and shear. Thewire in the grids may be flat to allow them to bend more readily Whensubjected to compressive forces.

As shown in Figure 8, a retainer bar 21a is welded to the channel 8a.The retainer bar 21b is riveted to the channel 8a. The retainer barsform a socket-like recess to engage and securely hold the bulb-like topedging of the shell 1, also it acts as a bearing bar for the upper endof the top rib 27. The tie-post 22 is attached at its bottom to thechannel 9 and its top is attached to the resilient steel bar 23 and thelimit bolt 24. This type of tie and support allows the hood 6 and thetrunk lid 7 to yield and cushion the shock of an impact on their topsurface during roll-overs. The bar 23 and the bolt 24 prevent thechannel 8a and adjoining parts from rising when, an impact on the sideof the shell 1 tends to raise the upper portion of the vehicle body. Thetie 23 is yieldable downwardly but not upwardly. As shown in Figures 8,and 11, the sliding retainer 25 takes the thrust from the lower edge ofthe shell 1. The retainer 25 can slide down the tie-post 22 as the shell1 is spread in flattening under an impact. The retainers 25 act ascantilevered beams to allow the shell to spread. The contact surfaces ofthe retainer 25 may be thinly coated with resilient plastic to eliminatechattering noise from vibration and road shocks. The retainer 25 may betack welded lightly to channel 9 to restrain the shell and ties fromflexing sl'ghtly from vibration and road shocks. This would eliminatesqueaks and chattering noises. Such light tack welds would break readilywhen collision forces acted on the shell. Retainer bars 25a are shortmembers that are fastened to the retainers 25. The bar 25a grips thelower bulb-like edging of the shell 1 and acts as a bearing bar for theend of the lower rib 27. The spokelike radial ties 26 may be used torestrain the shell 1 from bulging outwardly when the shell is struckduring a collision. The ties 26 are fastened to the grid wires in theshell 1 and to the tie post 22. The ties 26 do not materially preventthe shell 1 from excessively bulging inwardly under a localized impactthat tends to destroy the arched shape of the shell 1. Ribs 27 and 28may be used to maintain an arched shape to the shell 1 during acollision until the arched bowed shape is flattened just short of thestate of collapsing. The wires 26 may be used with the ribs 27 and 28,or either the ribs or the tie wires may be used solely to restrain orconfine the shell 1 to maintain a substantially bowed shape. Thelight-weight wires 26 take a direct pull from the shell, thus they areefficiently used. The ribs 27 and 28 may yield under an impact, whilemaintaining pressure on the shell 1 to maintain an arched shape to thedeflecting shell. The adjoining rib tips 315 or ribs 27 and 28 areshaped to limit the flattening and the bowing of the rib assembly.

The shell 1 may have rib-like portions 112 and 1b to stitfen the shelland to provide more thickness around the wires of the grids 2t) and 20a,to thus increase the shells resistance against the tendency of the gridwires to rip out of the shell during an impact. There is a wire gridsystem 29 that links the ribs 27 and 28 together. The ribs pivot withthese grid wires acting as hinges when the shell area bearing againstthem flattens during a collision. There is a hole at the intersection ofthe wires in the grid 29 to allow the Wire 26 to project through it. Thewires of the grid 29 may be fused together and be flattened and piercedwhile hot to form this type of in tersection. The hole has a loose fitwith the wire 26, to allow the wire to slide slightly when the bodyflattens and a portion of the shell 1 spreads to the extent that thewire 26 is bent at the shell.

The offsets 30 on the wires 26 tend to hold the ribs 27 and 28 close tothe shell 1. Since the length of the arc of the shell 1 tends to becomeequal to that of the rib assembly asthe members spread and flatten,there is cornpensating means to allow this fluctuation. The shell-1shortens to an extent when it is compressed by an impact. The ribs 27may have rib tips 31a attached to .engage the retainer bars 21b and 25a.The rib tips 31a may have spring portions to allow the rib system togradually lengthen to compensate for the fluctuation. The rib tips 31aand 31b may be made of metal to allowtheir small bearing areas towithstand the pressures. The ribs 27 and 28 may have limit eyes similarto those shown for the horizontal rib sections 32. The horizontal ribsections 32 at the front and rear of the vehicle may have limit eyes 32ato allow limited yielding when the arched length of the shell 1 flattenspartially. The intermediate portion of the. width of the shell 1 in thehorizontal arcs of the front and rear of the body are highly compressedby front or rear collision impacts. The resilient plastic shell iscompressible. The horizontal ribs 32 have this limit means to allow theribs to yield to a limit that maintains an arched shape that can resistforces further without materially yielding, unless very violent forcesare not absorbed wholly and such forces cause the shell to rupture andcollapse.

The spring tie sheets 33 may be made of high carbon steel to act assprings in the tie system to absorb thrusts that are diverted from thecollision impact area into the arch. The sheets 33 have corrugations toallow them to flex. The spring 33 straightens under severe collisionimpacts and then rebounds to its original shape after the force isreleased. Sheets 33 may be pulled. apart to absorb force after they havereached their limit of deflection. New sheets 33 could be readilyattached to replace the sheets that are pulled apart. Sheets33 are shownas short members spanning between retainers 25. The sheets 33 are shortso the shell 1 can deflect locally. Sheets 33 may be made of lessresilient steel that permanently deforms when stretched, which sheetsabsorb collision forces in stretching and possibly breaking. The tiesheet 34 is fastened to the channel 8a, the tie post 22, and the sheets33. It also securely engages the up,- per edging of the shell 1. Thebottom of the spring 33 securely engages the lower edging of theshell 1. At the upper portion of sheet 34 are two corrugations thatmayyield during a roll-over since the tie system can yield downwardly fromimpacts above. The sheet 34 may be highly resilient to allow arebounding action. Sheets 33 and 34 act as an inner shell. Sheet 35 is acorrugated stiffener that may be used, particularly around the front andaround the rear of the vehicle body; where its arched shape resists agreat compressive force to absorb much of a collision force before thearch collapses. Sheets 35 are fastened, such as by welding, to tie sheet34 to prevent it from flattening or spreading in width. A seal 36 at thehood 6 bears against the shell 1. Highly compressible resilientinsulation 39, such as fiber glass, may be placed in the segmental spacebetweenthe shell 1 and its chord line. It would act as a cushioningmeans and as an insulation. The front of the vehicle body shell hasperforations to allow air to pass through to reach and cool theradiator. Resilient tubes 40 attached to these openings pass through thesteel tie sheet 34.

When vehicles traveling athigh velocities collide, they create collisionforces of great magnitude. To safeguard the occupants as much aspossible, broad means can be used to safely cushion, divert, and absorbthese violent forces. The curved barriers described in my co-pendingapplications may be used in the interiors of automobiles to cushion theoccupants during collisions. A curved barrier B is shown in the forwardportion of th einterior of the automobile. The interiors of theautomobiles may also be padded where the barriers do not furnishcushioning means.

During very violent collisions, the vehicle body must yield effectivelyto adequately cushion collision impacts to protect the occupants. Theyielding must be limited -will tear, buckle, and crush portions ofso'the occupants compartment remains intact and it is not penetrated byfailing portions of the vehicle. The more violent collision impactsagainst the vehicle body the body. The body yields gradually as itabsorbs impact forces. The impact resistance and yielding of the frontof the body is as follows. The resilient shell, ribs, and ties yieldwhile the shell maintains a bowed shape that causes the shell to act incompression. Force is absorbed to stretch the-spring ties, bend theresilient plastic and compress the fibers of the shell with thecompressive arched force. After the limit of yielding of the spring tiesis reached, further force can be absorbed by the pull on the ties untilthey break, if the ties are so proportioned that they reach their limitof deflection before the shell strikes the roadway 38. The limit of thepartial flattening of the shell while maintaining an arched shape causedby either its contact to the roadway 38 or by the spring ties holdingafter yielding, causes the shell 1 to resist as an arch withoutyieldingmaterially, unless the force is so great as to cause further yieldinguntil the ribs bear against the arched sheet 34. The arched sheet 34 isconfined and strengthened by its relationship with the portions of thefront of the vehicle body consisting of the channel 9, the channel 8a,the tie post 22 with its connectors, and sheet 35. This portion of thebody forms a lateral arched structure that is stiffened by the hood 6and the motor 17. The hood 6 is kept securely latched in position. Thehood edging is keyed to the top of channel 8a so that it ties the frontof the body together and can effectively transmit stresses. When acollision force almost flattens a portion of the shell 1 to the shapeshown in Figure 11", the ribs 27 and 28 bear against the arched sheet34. The tie post 22 behind the sheet 34 prevents the sheet 34 fromreadily buckling. The corrugations in the sheet 34 and the corrugatedsheet 35 also restrain the sheet 34 from buckling. The tie poststransmit force from the ribs 27 and 28 into the channels 8a and 9. Ifthis action does not absorb the force, the localized pressure on thearched front portion of the body tends to deform the arched members 8a,9, 34, 35, and the shell 1, and cause them to bend and collapse. Thehood 6 resists the tendency to deform the channel 8a until it buckles oris torn loose.

The bowed shell 1 is shown tilted. This tilting allows a low impact frombumpers on another car to cause the shell 1 to deflect with a flatteningaction. If the bow of the shell were not tilted, an impact close to thebottom of shell 1 such as from object 37 would cause breakage ratherthan the partial flattening and cushioning action. Since the center ofgravity of a loaded automobile is above the axles, in a very violenthead-on crash, a common automobile tends to nose down. The front of thisautomobile body tends to rise when it strikes low against a collidingobject such as object 37 shown in Figure 8. The impact force is divertedinto the arch of the shell 1 which spreads the chord of the shell as itflattens partially under the thrust. The impact force is diverteddownwardly towards the roadway and upwardly, which tends to lift theautomobile body. The lifting action can absorb a great amount of forcein lifting the automobile with its occupants. Thus, force is expended inthe lifting action, rather than allowing it to break automobile bodymembers. If the force lifts an end of the automobile off the roadway,the tires will cushion the fall after the force has been expended in thelifting action. When the automobile noses up, the occupants are forceddown in their seats to an extent if they are held to their seats withsafety belts. The tendency of the impact to lift the vehicle tends tothrow the occupants who are not held by safety belts against theintermediate portion of the curved barrier B where there is the mostcushioning means. When the shell 1 is struck high above its center byobject 37a, there is less force absorbed in the lifting action than fromthe force of an object 37.

The vehicle body members may be proportioned so the lower edge of theshell 1 will spread down in flattening under a violent impact until theretainer 25 strikes the roadway 38. The adjacent edge portions of theshell 1 will yield and strike the roadway 38. The striking forces of theretainers and the shell against the roadway 38 transmit much force intothe roadway, thus harmlessly diverting and absorbing it. When someretainers 25 and portions of the shell 1, strike the roadway 38, whilethe collision force is still flattening and spreading the shell 1, thespreading action tends to lift or jack-up the body near the point ofimpact. During a very violent head-on collision, the spreading andlifting effect tends to bend up the whole front of the vehicle,including everything from the hood 6 down to the front wheel springs.This bending and lifting action absorbs considerable force. The bendingtends to deform the laterally arched shape of the front of the vehicleso the latter portion of the colliding force tends to crush it. Thus thefront of the body could be almost completely destroyed to cushion andabsorb the violent forces, while the portion of the body housing theoccupants remains intact. Since the motor is fastened to the channel 9,when the channel 9 bends up, it tilts the motor 17. Thus the motor 17will be tilted up on end during a very violent crash, rather than bepushed directly back into the occupants compartment. While the upliftingaction is progressing, the lateral forces compress the arched front ofthe automobile body. When the various strains cause breakage, the frontportion of the body tends to gradually collapse and be crushed if theremaining force is great enough to cause that action. When the shellspreads downwardly and one or more retainers 25, and portions of theshell edging bear or snag into the roadway 38, particularly a black-toptype roadway, the holding engagement to the roadway tends to prevent thelower adjacent portion of the shell 1 from failing inwardly, thustending to maintain a lateral arched shape to the front of the body. Thebody members may be proportioned so the ties 18 and 33 will reach theirlimit of deflection and resist the force until they are ruptured bybeing pulled apart just short of the position where the lower edge ofthe shell 1 contacts the roadway 38. The ties 18 may be proportioned sothey will reach their limit of deflection and break, before the ties 33reach their deflection limit. Thus the ties could be broken to absorbconsiderable force and prevent a violent rebound from the collidingobject 37. When the ties are broken and a portion of the lower edge ofthe body shell structure strikes and bears against the roadway 38, theportion of the body above it will continue to act usefully by divertingthe arched thrust from the shell 1 into the roadway.

The vehicle body members may be proportioned so that the roadway surfaceacts as a limit for the spreading of the shell, the springs havingdeflection latitude past the roadway limiting means.

The portion of the body bearing against the roadway 38 or the shoulderof such a roadway tends to snag and create a great deal of friction ifthe vehicle continues to move after striking an object 37, which may bea guard rail. The friction would absorb force and tend to stop the carmovement. Thus if a guard rail yields and fails, the friction orsnagging action may stop the car before it reaches the outer edge of theroadway shoulder.

The body may be designed so the shell 1 does not spread down as far asthe roadway. This type of arrangement would be more limited in divertingand absorbing forces.

An automobile body of more limited usefulness may be made without tiesacross the chord of shell 1, the shell 1 will spread and divert theforces downwardly to the roadway and upwardly in lifting actions.

Such an automobile body shell may be of stiff or brittle plastic withreinforcing.

Strong brittle plastic would be highly useful with a thin flexiblebinder skin similar to the steel sheet 51 shown in Figure 18. Thebrittle plastic would absorb force to crack it, and the crackedfragments would act like stones in a stone arch to momentarily resist incompression while diverting the thrust into the roadway 38 and into thelifting action before the shell collapses.

Figure 15 shows the typical roof and ceiling details, also the doorheader and the upper portion of the door 4. The periphery of the roofmay have resilient cushioning means to cushion impacts duringroll-overs. Strong resilient curved steel bars 41 may be attached to therigid framing 10a, 10b and 100, to form a cushioning means. The ends ofthe bars 41 may be inserted into holes in the framing members. Thedished roof shell may have an offset 5a to project out past the rigidframing to engage and cover the rods 41, to act with the rods 41 tocushion impacts and to act as a trim. The roof edging will cushionablyyield during roll-overs in either direction.

As shown in Figure 15, the end of the shell 5 is fastened to theresilient crimped steel tie sheet 42. The sheet 42 is attached to theouter face of the member 100. The end of the offset 5a is fastened tothe sheet 42.

During roll overs, the shell 5 flattens to an extent when impacted onits intermediate portion. The plastic in the shell 5 compresses to anextent from the impact force. The impact force is diverted into thearched directions of the shell 5.

The sheet 42 has crimps at right angles to each other, which allows itto yield when the shell 5 flattens. The sheet 42 can slide against thetop of member c as it stretches. The vertical edging of the sheet 42being fastened at the bottom is allowed to bend, or hinge out.

There are fingers punched upwards from sheet 42, to act as anchors forthe roof sheet 5.

The curved plastic ceiling panel 16 is curved in one direction to form asafety barrier similar to that described in my co-pending applications;the sheet 42 acts as the tie for the panel 43 in addition to being a tiefor the shell 5. The panel 16 is fastened to the tie 42 and it may beattached as shown to the ribs in the shell 5. There is a gap between theend of the panel 16. and the member 10a, to allow the panel to flattento an extent When the occupant is thrown against it. The shell 5 and thepanel 16 may be connected with hangers or ties 43.

The door 4 may have a curved safety barrier 44 built into its innerportion. The barrier 44 has a catch or snubber to prevent violentrebounding of an occupant who is hurled against it during a collision.The barrier 44 has a transparent portion to allow visibility through thewindow. The bulb-like cushion 45 is attached to the member 10c at thedoor. The cushion 45 may be. made of, plastic that is resilient enoughto, allow it to deflect without cracking, when an occupant is thrownagainst it. It may be an inflated elastic tube of rubber and nylon. Thetop of the barrier 44 will bear against the member 10c when the barrieris flattened by the force of an occupants body that is hurled against itduring a collision. The barrier 45 spreads downwardly when flattening.The door 4 has a, bowed shell, ties and tie-posts similar to arrangementshown in Figure 8. The door 4 has an angle iron 46 along its bottom. Thetie-posts 47 in the door 4 are attached to the angle 46. The angle 46bears against the channel 9. The tops of the tie-posts 47 are rigidlyfastened to the horizontal cross piece 48. The floor 49 of the vehiclestiffens the chassis channel 9, restraining the channel 9 from bendingfrom the thrust of an impact against the shell of the door 4. Sincecollision impacts are inverted and spread to large enough portions ofthe body to allow the forces to be absorbed, the door 4 has offsets 4aand 4b to engage grooved keyway-like portions of the shells 1 and 2, asshown in Figure 16. These interlocking parts allow both tensile stressesand 10 compressive stresses to be transmitted through the doorstructure. The latch 14 tends to hold the door shell in alignment withthe shells 1 and 2.

During an automobile collision, the driver is usually injured by thesteering wheel and its shaft. A round padded steel bearing plate 50 maybe securely mounted within the wheel with spoke-like connections toprovide a large surface for the occupants body to bear against during acollision. The momentum of the drivers body is safely transmitted to thesteering wheel, to bend the wheel and possibly the steering column tocushion the driver, 'to allow more space and time for deceleration. Thepadded plate 50 prevents people from being injured by the narrowsteering wheel rim, spokes and the steering column end. The plate 50acts as a bufier against a steering column that is pushed in by itslower portion being impacted by a colliding object. The steering wheelmay protrude past the end of the steering column to provide morecushioning space when the wheel is bent in.

Figure 18 shows a fragment of a modified automobile body shell. A metalskin 51 is on the convex side of the plastic shell 1. The tie wire 26 isfastened, such as by welding, to the metal skin 51. This modificationallows the use of steel sheets as the metal skin 51, with the plasticgiving thickness to the shell to restrain it from buckling to an extent.This type of body shell is permanently deformed by violent collisionforces. It pro, vides cushioning action to a degree and thus offers someprotection to the occupants. The skin 51 may be used as the shellwithout the plastic 1. Ribs and ties may be used effectively with suchan arrangement.

While I have illustrated and described certain specific embodiments ofmy invention, it will be understood that these are by way ofillustration only, and that various changes and modifications may bemade within the contemplation of my invention and within the scope ofthe following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a vehicle having a body shell portion formed of athin flexible sheet of substantially rigid material formed to have ashape of a bow in one direction, said how extending outwardly of thebody and having substantially constant radius of curvature throughout,said vehicle including a framework portion which supports oppositeextremities of said bow in a manner so that at least one of saidextremities is outwardly yieldable in a direction away from the other asthe result of impact with an object on the convex surface of said how,to allow partial flattening of said how, and means for preventingbuckling of said bow from said impact, arcuate edges of said body shellportion being secured to adjacent portions of the vehicle body, the saidadjacentportions coacting with said body shell portion to restrain saidbody shell portion from deforming to an extent by. diverting some of thesaid impact force into the said, adjacent portions, whereby the variousportions of the vehicle body act as a unit to absorb larger forces thancan be absorbed by the said body shell portion alone.

2. A vehicle body as recited in claim 1 wherein said means comprises astiffening means distributedv throughoutsaid' how.

3. A vehicle body as recited in claim 1 wherein said means comprises aplurality of spaced, rigid supports extending across the concave portionof said how.

4. A vehicle body as recited in claim 1 wherein said sheet is of plasticmaterial.

5. A vehicle body as recited in claim 1 wherein said sheet is of metal.

6. A vehicle body as recited in claim 1 wherein said sheet has embeddedtherein a reinforcing material.

7. A vehicle body as recited in claim 1 wherein one of said extremitiesis fixed and the other is slidably 11 mounted on said framework portionto permit said outward movement under impact.

8. A vehicle body as recited in claim 1 together with spring meanssecured to said framework portion and in engagement with the yieldableextremity of said bowed portion for yieldably supporting said outwardlyyieldable extremity.

9. A vehicle body portion as recited in claim 1 wherein said bodyportion extends substantially horizontally of the vehicle.

10. A vehicle body having a perimetrical shell portion outwardly bowedin a horizontal and vertical direction, at least the lower end of saidportion being yieldably mounted for downward movement away from theupper end as the result of impact of an object against the convexsurface thereof, and a plurality of stiffening elements extending inend-to-end relationship and in engagement with the concave surface ofsaid bowed portion in at least the vertical direction between said endsand which elements are relatively pivotally movable to a limited extentso as to prevent buckling or abnormal distortion of said outwardly bowedportion and maintain curvature thereof, arcuate edges of said shellportion being secured to adjacent portions of the vehicle body, the saidadjacent portions coacting with said shell portionto restrain said shellportion from deforming to an extent by diverting some of the said impactforces into the said adjacent portions, whereby the various portions ofthe vehicle body act as a unit to absorb larger forces than can beabsorbed by the said shell portion alone.

11. A vehicle body having a perimetrical shell portion outwardly bowedin a vertical direction, at least the lower end of said portion beingyieldably mounted for downward movement away from the upper end as theresult of impact of an object against the convex surface thereof, and aplurality of stiffening elements extending in end-to-end relationshipand in engagement with the concave surface of said bowed portion in thevertical direction between said ends and which elements are relativelypivotally movable to a limited extent so as to prevent buckling orabnormal distortion of said outwardly bowed portion and maintaincurvature thereof, the upper end of said portion being fixed, meansmovably connected to said lower end of said portion and which isengageable with the roadway surface as a consequence of predeterminedflattening of said portion, whereby continued impact force will tend toraise the adjacent portion of said body away from said roadway surfaceand thereby divert the impact force.

12. A vehicle body as recited in claim together with spring meanssecured to said body and engageable with said lower end of said bowedportion to permit yieldable lowering movement of said lower end as theresult of flattening of said curved portion from impact against anobject.

13. A vehicle body having a perimetrical shell portion outwardly bowedin a vertical direction, at least the lower end of said portion beingyieldably mounted for downward movement away from the upper end as theresult of impact of an object against the convex surface thereof, and aplurality of stiffening elements extending in endto-end relationship andin engagement with the concave surface of said bowed portion in thevertical direction between said ends and which elements are relativelypivotally movable to a limited extent so as to prevent buckling orabnormal distortion of said outwardly bowed portion and maintaincurvature thereof, the upper end of said portion being fixed, and springmeans located substantially beneath said fixed upper end for permittingyieldable lowering movement of the lower end of said portion as theresult of flattening thereof as a consequence of impact, means movablyconnected to said lower end of said portion and which is engageable withthe roadway surface as a consequence of predetermined flattening of saidportion, whereby continued impact force will tend to raise the adjacentportion of said body away from said roadway surface and thereby divertthe impact force.

14. A vehicle body having a perimetrical shell portion outwardly bowedin a horizontal and vertical direction, at least the lower end of saidportion being yieldably mounted for downward movement away from theupper end as the result of impact of an object against the convexsurface thereof, a plurality of stiffening elements extending inend-to-end relationship and in engagement with the concave surface ofsaid bowed portion in at least the vertical direction between said endsand which elements are relatively pivotally movable to a limited extentso as to prevent buckling or abnormal distortion of said outwardly bowedportion and maintain curvature thereof, the upper end of said portionbeing fixed, and means movably connected to said lower end of saidportion and which is engageable with the roadway surface as aconsequence of predetermined flattening of said portion, whereby thestriking thrust of the said lower end of the said portion against thesaid roadway will divert much of the impact force into the roadway andcontinued impact force will tend to raise the adjacent portion of saidbody away from said roadway surface and thereby divert more of theimpact force.

15. A vehicle body as recited in claim 14 together with spring meanssecured to said body and engageable with said lower end of said bowedportion to permit yieldable lowering movement of said lower end as theresult of flattening of said curved portion from impact against anobject.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.134,944 Mortimer Feb. 2, 1943 D. 139,936 Walker Dec. 5, 1944 1,313,282Finnegan Aug. 19, 1919 1,642,879 Icre Sept. 20, 1927 1,814,556 JewettJuly 14, 1931 2,035,809 Hingst Mar. 31, 1936 2,068,715 Stevens Jan. 26,1937 2,120,459 Brown June 14, 1938 2,502,483 Sauer et al. Apr. 4, 19502,508,836 Morris May 23, 1950 2,551,054 Sanmori May 1, 1951 2,757,040McLelland July 3l, 1956 2,770,850 Graham Nov. 20, 1956 2,796,286 BarenyiJune 18, 1957 2,826,787 Graham Mar. 18, 1958 2,826,788 Graham Mar. 18,1958 2,827,305 Graham Mar. 18, 1958

